Zimbabwe’s World Cup Report: Lessons learned for spirited Chevrons

Wins– 0

Losses– 4

Finishing position – Knocked out in the first group stage

There were flashes of quality from a number of Zimbabwe players during the tournament, and their attitude and work rate throughout their time in South Africa was exceptional.

On the pitch, it didn’t quite translate to strong team performances on this occasion, but the coaches and leading players will be keen to take learnings from their experiences at the World Cup.

Sonali Dhulap is part of the ICC’s team on the ground in South Africa, and had this to say about her experiences working with and alongside the Zimbabwe squad:

"With practice and media sessions, it had been a long day for Zimbabwe but they did not take long to slip into the ‘fun mode’ on the day of their photoshoot. They started showcasing their unique celebrations in abandon and were quick to playfully tease fellow teammates. They could not sit still for a single moment and were busy playing games, trying to enjoy every moment.

"Their manager told me how excited they were just to be there. They faced some tough opponents out on the field and it was not always easy going for them. But they showed the desire to better themselves, worked hard with their mentor Sana Mir in the nets, and were attentive to their suggestions."

The 17-year-old all-rounder has talent with both bat and ball, and showed flashes of both skillsets during the tournament.

Her 42 against Pakistan came from just 35 balls and gave her side some momentum and a chance of doing something in the game.

And against Indonesia it was she who looked most likely to be able to halt the run chase, taking 3/8 in her four overs.

Six wickets in the tournament was a team high by Chipo Moyo.

Her excellent returns against Rwanda (3/22) and Indonesia (3/12) were two of the more impressive showings from the squad during their campaign.

Sana Mir – Former Pakistan international and ICC Mentor to Zimbabwe

“To have a U19 Women's World Cup and provide additional support with mentors shows the ICC’s commitment to expanding the women's game.

"It gives me immense pleasure to be a mentor to Pakistan and Zimbabwe and I’m enjoying watching the players bloom before our very eyes.”

England – Lost by 176 runs

The English went on to dish out plenty more hefty beatings in this tournament, and it was Zimbabwe’s misfortune to meet them first up in Potchefstroom.

There was very little in the way of positives to take from the game, with the bowlers struggling to make inroads and a daunting target of 200 to win breaking the batters’ spirit throughout a testing second innings.

Rwanda – Lost by 38 runs

The game that Zimbabwe will look back on with the most regret will be the defeat to Rwanda.

The bowlers did an outstanding job to get the game back under control despite the top three all making runs, with Chipo Moyo and Kudzai Chigora leading the way with the ball.

And when the score was 60/2 after 12.3 overs chasing 120 to win, Zimbabwe would have thought they were in a decent position.

But the pressure to up the scoring rate proved their undoing as they collapsed to 80 all out.

Pakistan – Lost by 10 wickets

The rate of scoring wasn’t quite high enough for Zimbabwe as they reached just 97/6 from their 20 overs, despite an excellent 35-ball 42 from Kelis Ndhlovu.

It has been a feature of this tournament that openers have gone extremely well if they’ve managed to get established at the crease, and Zimbabwe were on the receiving end of such a performance, with Pakistan’s top two combining for an unbeaten partnership of 100 to win the game.

Indonesia – Lost by 3 wickets

Some fine bowling from Kelis Ndhlovu and Chipo Moyo, plus some defiant lower-order runs from Tawana Marumani and Danielle Meikle weren’t enough for Zimbabwe.

They did well to recover from the loss of two wickets in the first three balls of the match to post a competitive score, but Indonesia chased down 87 to win.